Dishwasher with disk sprayer

ABSTRACT

A dishwasher for treating dishes according to at least one automatic cycle of operation and including a tub having a bottom wall for at least partially defining a treating chamber in which dishes may be received for treatment, at least one disk sprayer provided on the bottom wall, and having at least one opening through which liquid is emitted into the treating chamber, and a recirculation circuit fluidly coupling the treating chamber to the at least one disk sprayer such that liquid emitted into the treating chamber may be directed back to the disk sprayer for recirculation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Contemporary automatic dishwashers for use in a typical householdinclude a tub for receiving soiled dishes to be cleaned. A spray systemand a recirculation system may be provided for re-circulating liquidthroughout the tub to remove soils from the dishes. The dishwasher mayhave a controller that implements a number of pre-programmed cycles ofoperation to wash dishes contained in the tub.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the invention relates to a dishwasher for treatingdishes according to at least one automatic cycle of operation includinga tub comprising a bottom wall for at least partially defining atreating chamber in which dishes may be received for treatment, at leastone disk sprayer provided on the bottom wall, and having at least oneopening through which liquid is emitted into the treating chamber, arecirculation circuit fluidly coupling the treating chamber to the atleast one disk sprayer such that liquid emitted into the treatingchamber may be directed back to the disk sprayer for recirculation, andat least one of a heater, a filter, and a sump located exteriorly of thetreating chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dishwasher in accordance with a firstembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view of the dishwashershown in FIG. 1 and illustrating a recirculation system and air supplysystem.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a control system of the dishwasher of FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a remote sump andfilter unit and its couplings to the recirculation system and air supplysystem illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the remote sump and filter unit ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a disk sprayer, which may be used in thedishwasher of FIG. 1 according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the sprayer of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a dishwasher inaccordance with a third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a lower portion of a dishwasher inaccordance with a fourth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a lower portion of a dishwasher inaccordance with a fifth embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of the invention is illustratedas a dishwasher 10 having a cabinet 12 defining an interior. Dependingon whether the dishwasher 10 is a stand-alone or built-in, the cabinet12 may be a chassis/frame with or without panels attached, respectively.The dishwasher 10 shares many features of a conventional automaticdishwasher, which will not be described in detail herein except asnecessary for a complete understanding of the invention.

The cabinet 12 encloses a tub 14 at least partially defining a treatingchamber 16 for holding dishes for washing according to a cycle ofoperation and defining an access opening 17. The tub 14 has spaced topand bottom walls 18 and 20, spaced sidewalls 22, a front wall 24, and arear wall 26. In this configuration, the walls 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26collectively define the treating chamber 16 for treating or washingdishes. The front wall 24 may be at least partially defined by a door 28of the dishwasher 10, which may be pivotally attached to the dishwasher10 for providing accessibility to the treating chamber 16 through theaccess opening 17 for loading and unloading dishes or other washableitems. More specifically, the door 28 may be configured to selectivelyopen and close the access opening 17.

Dish holders in the form of upper and lower dish racks 30, 32 arelocated within the treating chamber 16 and receive dishes for washing.The upper and lower racks 30, 32 may be mounted for slidable movement inand out of the treating chamber 16 for ease of loading and unloading. Asused in this description, the term “dish(es)” is intended to be genericto any item, single or plural, that may be treated in the dishwasher 10,including, without limitation; utensils, plates, pots, bowls, pans,glassware, and silverware. While the present invention is described interms of a conventional dishwashing unit as illustrated in FIG. 1, itcould also be implemented in other types of dishwashing units such asin-sink dishwashers or drawer dishwashers including drawer dishwashershaving multiple compartments.

A disk sprayer 34 may be provided on the bottom wall 20 of the tub 14.In the illustrated example, multiple disk sprayers 34 have been includedin the dishwasher 10. More specifically, four disk sprayers 34 have beenprovided on the bottom wall 20. The four disk sprayers 34 may bearranged in any suitable manner on the bottom wall 20. By way ofexample, the four disk sprayers are illustrated as being arrangedone-per-quadrant relative to the bottom wall 20. Further, while each ofthe four disk sprayers 34 have been illustrated as being all the samesize it is contemplated that the four disk sprayers 34 may be differentsizes. While four disk sprayers 34 have been illustrated, it will beunderstood that any number of disk sprayers 34 may be used and that thedisk sprayers may occupy any amount of the total area of the bottom wall20. The size, area, and location of the disk sprayers 34 may be suchthat the disk sprayers 34 may provide best coverage and wash performancefor the dishes in the load.

Each of the disk sprayers 34 includes a body 35 and at least one opening36 through which liquid may be emitted into the treating chamber 16.Multiple openings 36 have been illustrated and it is contemplated thatany number of the openings 36 may spray liquid into the treatingchamber. More specifically, the disk sprayers 34 may be configured tospray a flow of liquid from openings 36 over a portion of the interiorof the wash tub 14. The openings 36 have been illustrated on both a topof the disk sprayer 34 and on a peripheral edge of the disk sprayer 34.In this manner, liquid may be sprayed both upwards and outwards. A firstwash zone may be defined by the spray field emitted by the disk sprayers34 into the treating chamber 16. The spray from the disk sprayers 34 issprayed into the wash tub 14 in typically upward fashion to wash disheslocated in the lower dish rack 32.

The disk sprayer 34 may take any suitable form including that the body35 of the rotatable disk sprayer 34 may be rotatable relative to thebottom wall 20 of the tub 14. Alternatively, the disk sprayer 34 may bea fixed disk sprayer 34 that is fixed relative to the bottom wall 20 ofthe tub 14. Such a fixed disk sprayer 34 may have a body 35 which isintegrally formed with the bottom wall 20 of the tub 14. Alternatively,the fixed disk sprayer 34 may be separately formed and mounted to thebottom wall 20 of the tub 14. Regardless of whether the disk sprayer 34is rotatable or fixed, the disk sprayer 34 may be spaced above thebottom wall 20. Alternatively, the disk sprayer may be flush with thebottom wall 20 or inset in a portion of the bottom wall 20. If the disksprayers 34 are spaced above the bottom wall 20 they may optionally alsoprovide a liquid spray downwardly onto a lower portion of the treatingchamber 16, but for purposes of simplification, this will not beillustrated or described herein. If the disk sprayers are rotatable, itis contemplated that they need not all rotate in the same direction.Further, it is contemplated that for multiple disk sprayers that somemay be fixed and others may rotate.

Referring to FIG. 2, the major systems of the dishwasher 10 and theirinterrelationship may be seen. For example, a liquid recirculationsystem 38 is provided for spraying liquid within the treating chamber 16to treat any dishes located therein and an air supply system 40 isprovided for supplying air to the treating chamber 16 for aiding in thedrying of the dishes. A recirculation circuit 42 fluidly coupling thetreating chamber 16 to the disk sprayers 34 may be included in therecirculation system 38 such that liquid emitted into the treatingchamber 16 may be directed back to the disk sprayers 34 forrecirculation. A remote sump and filter unit 44 that is physicallyremote or spaced from the treating chamber 16 is operably coupled to therecirculation circuit 42 of the recirculation system 38 and the airsupply system 40 may also be included. Among other things, the remotesump and filter unit 44 may provide pumping and filtering for the liquidrecirculation system 38, a heating function for the both the liquidrecirculation system 38 and the air supply system 40, and a drainingfunction.

One or more additional sprayers for spraying liquid within the treatingchamber 16 may also be included in the recirculation system 38. Theseone or more additional sprayers may be included in the recirculationcircuit 42. As illustrated, there are three additional sprayers: a sprayassembly 46, a mid-level spray assembly 48, and an upper spray assembly50, which may be supplied liquid from a supply tube 52 in therecirculation circuit 42. The spray assembly 46 is illustrated as beinglocated adjacent the lower rack 32 toward the rear of the treatingchamber 16. The spray assembly 46 is illustrated as including ahorizontally oriented distribution header or spray manifold having aplurality of nozzles. The spray assembly 46 may not be limited to thisposition; rather, the spray assembly 46 could be located in virtuallyany part of the treating chamber 16. Alternatively, the spray assembly46 could be positioned underneath the lower rack 32, adjacent or beneaththe disk sprayers 34. Such a spray manifold is set forth in detail inU.S. Pat. No. 7,594,513, issued Sep. 29, 2009, and titled “Multiple WashZone Dishwasher,” which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. The spray assembly 46 may be configured to spray a flow oftreating liquid in a generally lateral direction, over a portion of theinterior of the treating chamber 16. The spray may be typically directedto treat dishes located in the lower rack 32. A second wash zone may bedefined by the spray field emitted by the spray assembly 46 into thetreating chamber 16. When both the disk sprayers 34 and the sprayassembly 46 emit spray fields the first and second zones may intersect.

The mid-level spray arm assembly 48 is positioned between the upper dishrack 30 and the lower dish rack 32. The mid-level spray assembly 48 mayalso be configured to rotate in the dishwasher 10 and spray a flow ofliquid in a generally upward direction, over a portion of the interiorof the wash tub 14. In this case, the spray from the mid-level spray armassembly 48 is directed to dishes in the upper dish rack 30 to define athird spray zone. In contrast, the upper spray arm assembly 50 ispositioned above the upper dish rack 30 and generally directs a spray ofliquid in a generally downward direction to define a fourth spray zonethat helps wash dishes on both upper and lower dish racks 30, 32.

The remote sump and filter unit 44 may include a wash or recirculationpump 54 and a drain pump 56, which are fluidly coupled to a housing 57defining a sump 58, where liquid sprayed into the wash tub 14 willcollect due to gravity. In this manner, the sump 58 is fluidly coupledto the recirculation circuit 42. As illustrated, the housing 57 isphysically separate from the wash tub 14 and provides a mountingstructure for the recirculation pump 54 and drain pump 56.

A recirculation inlet opening 59 may be located in the bottom wall 20and may be fluidly coupled to a recirculation conduit 60 leading to thehousing 57. In the illustrated example, the recirculation inlet opening59 is located in the bottom wall 20 between the disk sprayers 34. Itwill be understood that the recirculation inlet opening 59 may belocated anywhere in the bottom wall 20. For example, if the disksprayers 34 are arranged differently, including if there is a singledisk sprayer 34, then the recirculation inlet opening need not belocated between the disk sprayers 34. The recirculation conduit 60provides a path for the liquid in the treating chamber 16 to travel tothe sump 58. As illustrated, the recirculation pump 54 fluidly couplesthe sump 58 to the supply tube 52 to effect a supplying of the liquidfrom the sump 58 to the sprayers. As illustrated, the drain pump 56fluidly couples to a drain pump outlet 62 to effect a supplying ofliquid from the sump 58 to a household drain 64.

It is contemplated that multiple supply tubes 52 may be included withinthe dishwasher 10 to form portions of the recirculation circuit 42.Liquid may be selectively supplied to a subset of all of the sprayersand/or simultaneously to all of the sprayers. The recirculation conduit60, sump 58, recirculation pump 54, disk sprayers 34, spray assemblies46-50, and supply tube(s) 52 collectively form the recirculation circuit42 in the liquid recirculation system 38. It will be understood that therecirculation circuit 42 includes multiple recirculation flow paths.Further, one or more valves may be provided with the recirculationcircuit 42 to control the flow of liquid within the dishwasher 10. Forexample, a liquid diverter 70 has been included in the dishwasher 10 tocontrol the flow of liquid to the sprayers from the recirculation pump54. The liquid diverter 70 is provided within the recirculation circuit42 and is operable to select between at least two of the multiple flowpaths for inclusion in the recirculation circuit 42. In this manner, theliquid diverter 70 may direct liquid from the recirculation pump 54 toinclude in the recirculation flow path at least one of the sprayers inthe dishwasher 10. This includes that the liquid diverter 70 may beoperable to select at least one of the four illustrated disk sprayers34.

A filter may be located somewhere within the recirculation circuit 42such that soil and foreign objects may be filtered from the liquid. Asan example, a coarse screen 66 has been illustrated as being located atthe recirculation inlet opening 59 such that soil and debris may befiltered from the liquid as it travels from the recirculation inletopening 59 in the bottom wall 20 to the sump 58. The coarse screen 66may be a strainer, which may be employed to retain larger soil particlesbut allows smaller particles to pass through. Further, a fine screenfilter 68 has been illustrated in FIG. 2 as being located within thehousing 57 between the recirculation conduit 60 and the recirculationpump 54.

The recirculation pump 54 may be fluidly coupled to the recirculationcircuit 42 such that it draws liquid in through the recirculationconduit 60 and sump 58 and delivers it to one or more of the disksprayers 34 or spray assemblies 46-50 through the supply tube(s) 52depending on the operation of the liquid diverter 70. The liquid issprayed back into the treating chamber 16 through the disk sprayers 34and/or spray assemblies 46-50 and drains back to the sump 58 where theprocess may be repeated.

The drain pump 56 may also be fluidly coupled to the housing 57. Thedrain pump 56 may be adapted to draw liquid from the housing 57 and topump the liquid through a drain pump outlet 62 to a household drain 64.As illustrated, the dishwasher 10 includes a recirculation pump 54 and adrain pump 56. Alternatively, it is possible for the two pumps to bereplaced by a single pump, which may be operated to supply to either thehousehold drain 64 or to the recirculation system.

The air supply system 40 may include a fan or blower 80, an air supplyconduit 82 having an outlet 84 and an air return conduit 86 having aninlet 88. The blower 80 may be fluidly coupled with the air supplyconduit 82 to supply air to the treating chamber 16 from the blower 80as well as being fluidly coupled to the air return conduit 86 to drawair from the treating chamber 16. Thus, the air supply conduit 82 may beconfigured to provide air to the treating chamber 16 while the airreturn conduit 86 may be configured to remove air from the treatingchamber 16. It should be noted that a closure, such as a valve, flap orother means (not shown) may be used to close off the fluid connectionbetween the air supply conduit 82 and the air return conduit 86 and thewash tub 14 during certain portions of the cycle of operation so thatliquid does not enter the air supply conduit 82 and the air returnconduit 86.

The air supply system may also include an inlet 90 located below thebottom wall 20 such that air exterior to the tub 14, i.e., “ambientair”, may be provided to the treating chamber 16. In this manner theblower 80 includes a first inlet open to air in the dishwasher 10, whichis the air return conduit inlet 88 and a second inlet open to ambientair, which is the inlet 90. The blower 80 may include a selectivelypositionable blower shutter 92, which may control a ratio of air fromthe air return conduit inlet 88 and the inlet 90 to the treating chamber16. The blower shutter 92 may be controlled such that the ratio of airfrom the inlet 90 and air from the air return conduit 86 may becontrolled. In this manner, the blower 80 may be fluidly coupled to theinlet 90, as well as the air supply conduit 82 and the air returnconduit 86 and the blower shutter 92 may control the ratio of therecirculated air and the ambient air provided to the treating chamberthrough the air supply conduit 82.

Further, the air supply system 40 may include an outlet fluidly open toambient air. An example of such an outlet has been illustrated as a vent94, which may exhaust the supplied air from the treating chamber 16. Thevent 94 may be fluidly coupled to an outlet duct (not shown), whichvents into the interior of the door 28, allowing air to escape throughthe various openings in the door 28.

A drive system 100 having a single motor 102 has also been illustratedand may be operably coupled to the liquid diverter 70 and the blowershutter 92 to control the position of the liquid diverter 70 and theposition of the blower shutter 92. The drive system 100 mayindependently control the position of the liquid diverter 70 and theposition of the blower shutter 92. Alternatively, the control of theposition of the liquid diverter 70 and the position of the blowershutter 92 by the drive system 100 may be linked or related in somemanner. Alternatively, the control of the position of the liquiddiverter 70 and the position of the blower shutter 92 may be controlledseparately. Such a drive system 100 and a potential liquid diverter 70are set forth in detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/486,038,filed Jun. 1, 2012, and titled “Dishwasher with Unitary Wash Module,”which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Yet anotherexample, of a suitable liquid diverter 70 may include a rotatablediverter disk such as set forth in detail in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/908,915, filed Oct. 21, 2010, and titled “Dishwasher withControlled Rotation of Lower Spray Arm,” which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

A control panel or user interface 110 provided on the dishwasher 10 andcoupled to a controller 112 may be used to select a cycle of operation.The user interface 110 may be provided on the cabinet 12 or on the outerpanel of the door 28 and can include operational controls such as dials,lights, switches, and displays enabling a user to input commands to thecontroller 112 and receive information about the selected cycle ofoperation. The dishwasher 10 may further include other conventionalcomponents such as additional valves, a dispensing system for dispensingtreating chemistries or rinse aids, spray arms or nozzles, etc.;however, these components are not germane to the present invention andwill not be described further herein.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the controller 112 may be provided with amemory 114 and a central processing unit (CPU) 116. The memory 114 maybe used for storing control software that may be executed by the CPU 116in completing a cycle of operation using the dishwasher 10 and anyadditional software. For example, the memory 114 may store one or morepre-programmed cycles of operation that may be selected by a user andcompleted by the dishwasher 10. A cycle of operation for the dishwasher10 may include one or more of the following steps: a wash step, a rinsestep, and a drying step. The wash step may further include a pre-washstep and a main wash step. The rinse step may also include multiplesteps such as one or more additional rinsing steps performed in additionto a first rinsing. The amounts of water and/or rinse aid used duringeach of the multiple rinse steps may be varied. The drying step may havea non-heated drying step (so called “air only”), a heated drying step ora combination thereof. These multiple steps may also be performed by thedishwasher 10 in any desired combination.

The controller 112 may be operably coupled with one or more componentsof the dishwasher 10 for communicating with and controlling theoperation of the components to complete a cycle of operation. Forexample, the controller 112 may be coupled with the recirculation pump54 for circulation of liquid in the wash tub 14 and the drain pump 56for drainage of liquid in the wash tub 14. The controller 112 may alsobe operably coupled with the blower 80 and the blower shutter 92 toprovide air into the wash tub 14.

Further, the controller 112 may also be coupled with one or moretemperature sensors 118, which are known in the art and not shown forsimplicity, such that the controller 112 may control the duration of thesteps of the cycle of operation based upon the temperature detected. Thecontroller 112 may also receive inputs from one or more other optionalsensors 120, which are known in the art and not shown for simplicity.Non-limiting examples of optional sensors 120 that may be communicablycoupled with the controller 112 include a moisture sensor, a doorsensor, a detergent and rinse aid presence/type sensor(s), and aposition sensor. The controller 112 may also be coupled to a dispenser122, which may dispense a detergent during the wash step of the cycle ofoperation or a rinse aid during the rinse step of the cycle ofoperation.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of the remotesump and filter unit 44. A cover 124 of the remote sump and filter unit44 has been exploded from the remainder of the remote sump and filterunit 44 for clarity. The cover 124 may be mounted to a bottom 126containing the remote sump and filter unit 44 in any suitable manner.The bottom 126 may include louvers or openings 101 to allow ambient airinto the container formed by the bottom 126 and the cover 124. Theremote sump and filter unit 44 has a drain pump 56 and recirculationpump 54 mounted to the housing 57. Portions of the air supply system 40wrap around the housing 57. It will be understood that only a portion ofboth the air supply conduit 82 and the air return conduit 86 areillustrated.

Referring to FIG. 5, a fine screen filter 68 may be fluidly coupled tothe recirculation circuit 42 to filter liquid passing through therecirculation circuit 42. More specifically, the fine screen filter 68may be located in the housing 57 and fluidly disposed between thehousing inlet 128 and housing outlet 130 to filter liquid passingthrough the sump 58. Because the housing 57 is located within thecabinet 12 but physically remote from the wash tub 14, the fine screenfilter 68 is not directly exposed to the wash tub 14. In this manner,the housing 57 and fine screen filter 68 may be thought of as defining afilter unit, which is separate and remote from the wash tub 14. The finescreen filter 68 may be a fine filter, which may be utilized to removesmaller particles from the liquid. The fine screen filter 68 may be arotating filter that is rotatable within the sump 58. Such a rotatingfilter may utilize a shroud 132 and a first diverter 134 to aid inkeeping the fine screen filter 68 clean, such a rotating fine screenfilter 68 and additional elements such as the shroud 132 and diverter134 are set forth in detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/483,254, filed May 30, 2012, and titled “Rotating Filter for aDishwasher,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.The rotating filter according to U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/483,254 may be operably coupled to an impeller 136 of therecirculation pump 54 such that when the impeller 136 rotates the finescreen filter 68 is also rotated.

The drain pump 56 may also be fluidly coupled to the housing 57. Thedrain pump 56 includes an impeller 138 which may draw liquid from thehousing 57 and pump it through a drain pump outlet 62 to a householddrain 64 (FIG. 2). The fine screen filter 68 is not fluidly disposedbetween the housing inlet 128 and the drain pump outlet 62 such thatunfiltered liquid may be removed from the sump 58.

A heater 140 may be thermally coupled to the recirculation circuit 42 toheat liquid passing through the recirculation circuit 42. In theillustrated example, the heater 140 is thermally coupled to the sump 58to heat the liquid passing through the sump 58. Further, the housing 57has been illustrated as being located inside a portion of the air supplysystem 40 and the heater 140 may be operably coupled to the controller112 and may be positioned such that it is mounted to the housing 57 andshared by the liquid recirculation system 38 and the remote sump andfilter unit 44. Such that the heater 140 may be configured to heat airin the air supply system 40 and the liquid in the recirculation circuit42. More specifically, it has been illustrated that the heater 140 ismounted to an exterior of the housing 57 where the air supply system 40wraps around the housing 57. In this location, the heater 140 mayprovide heated air and heated liquid into the wash tub 14 at the sametime or may provide heated air and heated liquid into the wash tub 14separately. Alternatively, it has been contemplated that the heater 140may be mounted to an interior of the housing 57 or that portions of theheater 140 could be mounted on both the interior and the exterior of thehousing 57. Any suitable heater may be used for the heater 140 includinga coiled heater, multiple ring heater, or a film heater mounted on thehousing 57, which has been illustrated by way of example.

While all three of the sump 58, fine screen filter 68, and heater 140have been illustrated as being located exteriorly of the treatingchamber 16 it is contemplated that one or more may be located in thetreating chamber 16 including in the bottom area of the tub 14. Forexample, at least two of the sump 58, fine screen filter 68, and heater140 may be located exteriorly of the treating chamber 16 while the thirdis located inside the treating chamber 16. Regardless of which of theabove may or may not be located exteriorly of the treating chamber 16 itwill be understood that the placement of the at least one of the sump58, fine screen filter 68, and heater 140 exteriorly of the treatingchamber 16 may free up at least a portion of the bottom wall 20 of thetub 14 for placement of the disk sprayers 34.

During operation of the dishwasher 10, the liquid recirculation system38 may be employed to provide liquid to one or more of the disk sprayers34 and/or spray assemblies 46-50. Liquid in the wash tub 14 passes intothe housing 57 where it may collect in the sump 58. At an appropriatetime during the cycle of operation to spray liquid into the treatingchamber 16, the controller 112 signals the recirculation pump 54 tosupply liquid to one or more of the disk sprayers 34 and/or sprayassemblies 46-50. The recirculation pump 54 draws liquid from the sump58 through the fine screen filter 68 and the recirculation pump 54 whereit may then be delivered to one or more of the disk sprayers 34 and/orspray assemblies 46-50 through the liquid diverter 70, the supplytube(s) 52, and any other associated valving or diverters.

Regardless of whether the air is heated or not, the blower 80 may forceair into the wash tub 14. The air travels upward within the treatingchamber 16 and exits the treating chamber 16 through the vent 94 or isremoved from the treating chamber 16 via air return conduit 86. Theblower 80 may draw in air from the air return conduit 86 and/or theinlet 90 depending upon the position of the blower shutter 92. Morespecifically, the position of the blower shutter 92 controls the ratioof ambient air from the inlet 90 and recirculated air from the airreturn conduit 86. The blower shutter 92 may be positionable to entirelyclose off the inlets 90 such that no ambient air is allowed to enter thetreating chamber 16. More specifically openings of the blower shuttermay be aligned or partially aligned with openings of the inlet 90 toallow ambient air to be provided to the treating chamber 16. Activationof the motor 102 of the drive system 100 by the controller 112 moves thecam mechanism 176, which in turn causes movement of the blower shutter92. In this manner, the output from the single motor 102 effectsmovement of the blower shutter 92. After achieving the desired ratio ofambient to recirculated air, the motor 102 may be deactivated so thatratio may be maintained. It has been contemplated that the air supplysystem 40 may be operated while the liquid recirculation system 38 isalso being operated. It has also been contemplated that the air supplysystem 40 may be operated separately to form a drying portion of theoperational cycle.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate one exemplary embodiment of a disk sprayeraccording to a second embodiment of the invention. The disk sprayer 150is similar to the disk sprayer 34 previously described with it beingunderstood that the description of the like parts applies to the secondembodiment, unless otherwise noted. In the exemplary embodiment the disksprayer 150 is of a variety that is fixed relative to the bottom wall 20of the tub 14.

In the exemplary embodiment, the disk sprayer 150 includes a body 152that defines an interior 154, which may be fluidly coupled to therecirculation circuit 42 and having openings 156. A valve body 158 maybe located within the interior 154 and may be operable to selectivelyfluidly couple at least some of the openings 156 to the recirculationcircuit 42. As the disk sprayer 150 is fixed relative to the bottom wall20 of the tub 14, the valve body 158 may be reciprocally moveable withinthe body 152. In the case where the disk sprayer 150 is moveablerelative to the bottom wall 20 the valve body 158 may be fixed.

A plurality of optional sealing rings 164 may be provided along theinterior of the body 152, with one of the sealing rings 164 surroundingeach of the openings 156. The sealing ring 164 may allow an opening 162in the valve body 158 to fluidly couple with the opening 156 so long asthe opening 162 is at least partially within the sealing ring 164. Inthis manner, the sealing ring 164 creates a larger effective outlet andallows for a longer fluid communication between the opening 156 havingthe sealing ring 164 and the opening 162 in the valve body 158. Suchsealing rings are set forth in detail in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/570,511, filed Aug. 9, 2012, and titled “Dishwasher with SpraySystem,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Itis also contemplated that alternatively, the sealing ring could beincluded on the valve body 158 around an opening 162 and that this mayalso allow the opening 162 to fluidly couple with the opening 156 solong as the opening 156 is at least partially within the sealing ringsurrounding the opening 162.

The valve body 158 has been illustrated as including a slidablerotatable plate 160 in the form of a frame 175 supporting a membrane173. The membrane 173 may be supported or operably coupled to the frame175 in any suitable manner. The membrane 173 may include the one or moreopenings 162, which may be in fluid communication with the recirculationcircuit 42. A drive system 184 may be operably coupled to the valve body158 to allow the membrane 173 to be moved while still allowing themembrane 173 to conform to the sealing rings 164. Such an exemplaryvalve body 158 and drive system as well as alternative valve bodies anddrive systems are set forth in detail in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/570,577, filed Aug. 9, 2012, and titled “Dishwasher withSprayer,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

During operation, the drive system 184 may move the membrane 173relative to the body 152 of the disk sprayer 150. Such movement, asillustrated, will be a relative rotation between the membrane 173 andthe body 152. However, the movement of the valve body 158 with respectto the body 152 may include sliding. Sliding may also refer to amovement between the valve body 158 and the body 152 that may includerotation as well as being slid. The movement may be unidirectional ormay be reciprocating.

In the illustrated example, the disk sprayer 150 includes multipleopenings 156 and the membrane 173 has multiple openings 162, which arefewer in number than the multiple openings 156. Relative movement of themembrane 173 and the disk sprayer 150 may selectively align the openings162 with a subset of the multiple openings 156 in the disk sprayer 150and liquid may spray from such openings 156.

FIG. 8 illustrates a third embodiment of the invention wherein a remotesump and filter unit 242 is illustrated as being located in amulti-compartment dishwasher 200 having a first compartment or tub 281and a second compartment or tub 282. In this embodiment, the tubs 281,282 each partially define a treating chamber 284, 286, respectively. Thefirst and second tubs 281, 282 are moveable elements and take the formof slide-out drawer units of similar size, each having a handle forfacilitating movement of the first and second tubs 281, 282 between anopen and closed position. The tubs 281, 282 are slidably mounted to achassis 212 through a pair of extendible support guides (not shown). Theupper compartment 282 is illustrated in the closed position and thelower compartment 281 is illustrated in a partially open position.Notably, the remote sump and filter unit 242 is not carried by eitherdrawer and is illustrated as being positioned in the lower-rear portionof the chassis 212.

As with the previously described embodiments, the dishwasher 200includes a liquid recirculation system 238 selectively fluidly coupledto first treating chamber 284 and the second treating chamber 286 toselectively supply liquid thereto and form a recirculation flow path. Aliquid diverter 270 is provided within the recirculation flow path forselectively directing liquid to at least one of the first treatingchamber 284 and the second treating chamber 286. The liquid diverter 270may be any suitable liquid diverter including a hemispherical sealhaving a single opening as previously described with respect to thesecond embodiment above. The liquid diverter is configured to include inthe recirculation flow path at least one of the tubs. It is alsoillustrated that both of the first and second tubs 281, 282 may includemultiple disk sprayers 234 and that the liquid diverter may beconfigured to include in the recirculation flow path at least one of themultiple disk sprayers 234. As with the previous embodiments the disksprayers 234 may be either rotatable or fixed along the bottom walls ofthe tubs 281 and 282. The disk sprayers 234 may be designed to move withthe first and second tubs 281, 282.

It should be noted that each of the first and second tubs 281, 282 haveseparate liquid inlets leading to the multiple disk sprayers 234 andseparate liquid outlets 384 and 386. The liquid inlets 380 and 382 andoutlets 384 and 386 are fluidly coupled to the remote sump and filterunit 242 through the recirculation system 238. The remote sump andfilter unit 242 includes a housing 257 defining a sump 258 that isphysically separate from both of the first and second tubs 281, 282. Thesump 258 may receive liquid sprayed into the first treating chamber 284and the second treating chamber 286. The housing 257 has an inlet 328fluidly connected to the liquid outlets 384 and 386 when the first andsecond tubs 281, 282 are in the closed position and an outlet 330,selectively fluidly coupled to the disk sprayers 234 through the liquiddiverter 270 when the first and second tubs 281, 282 are in the closedposition to define a recirculation path for the sprayed liquid.Additional valving (not shown) may be included to direct the liquid to aspecific disk sprayer 234. The remote sump and filter unit 242 mayinclude a drain pump (not shown) and controller 310, as well as a filterunit (not shown) located within the sump 258 and remote from the firstand second tubs 281, 282, and other components like the embodimentsdisclosed above.

An air supply system 240 may selectively fluidly couple to at least oneof the first treating chamber 284 and the second treating chamber 286 toselectively supply air thereto. A second diverter 290 for selectivelydirecting air to at least one of the first treating chamber 284 and thesecond treating chamber 286 may also be included in the dishwasher 200.An air return system 295 has also been illustrated and may include oneor more diverters, schematically illustrated as 297. As with the earlierembodiments the air supply system 240 may include a blower 280 having aselectively positionable blower shutter 292 for controlling a ratio ofair from the air return system 295 and an inlet open to ambient air.

FIG. 9 illustrates alternative disk sprayers 434 according to a fourthembodiment of the invention. The alternative disk sprayers 434 aresimilar to the disk sprayers 34 previously described and therefore, likeparts will be identified with like numerals increased by 400, with itbeing understood that the description of the like parts of the disksprayers 34 apply to the disk sprayers 434, unless otherwise noted.

One difference is that the disk sprayers 434 include disk sprayers ofdifferent sizes. More specifically, a large disk sprayer 434 is used incombination with small disk sprayers 434. For example, the disk sprayers434 are illustrated as including one large disk sprayer denoted with anA. Further, several smaller disk sprayers denoted with B, C, D, and Eare also shown. The bottom wall 420 is a polygonal with at least fourcorners, and the four small disks sprayers B, C, D, and E are arrangedone-per-corner on the bottom wall 420. It will be understood that themultiple sized disk sprayers 434 may be sized and arranged in anysuitable manner. The multiple sized disk sprayers 434 may also take upany amount of the total area of the bottom wall 420.

FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative dishwasher 500 with a disk sprayer534 according to a fifth embodiment of the invention. The alternativedishwasher 500 and disk sprayer 534 are similar to the dishwasher 400and the disk sprayer 434 previously described and therefore, like partswill be identified with like numerals increased by 100, with it beingunderstood that the description of the like parts of the dishwasher 400and disk sprayer 434 apply to the dishwasher 500 and disk sprayer 534,unless otherwise noted.

One difference is that the disk sprayer 534 includes one large disksprayer 534. The at least one large disk sprayer 534 is centeredrelative to the bottom wall 520. The large disk sprayer 534 may beshaped and sized in any suitable manner including that it may have adiameter substantially equal to a diameter of the bottom wall 520. Itwill also be understood that the large disk sprayer 534 may be locatedin any suitable location of the bottom wall 520 including that the largedisk sprayer 534 may be offset in the bottom wall 520. Anotherdifference is that side disk sprayers 590 having openings 592 have beenincorporated and may be fluidly coupled with the recirculation circuit42 to spray liquid into the treating chamber 516. These side disksprayers 590 may be very similar to the disk sprayers previouslydescribed above except that they are mounted on a side wall of the tub514.

To the extent not already described, the different features andstructures of the various embodiments may be used in combination witheach other as desired. That one feature may not be illustrated in all ofthe embodiments is not meant to be construed that it cannot be, but isdone for brevity of description. Thus, the various features of thedifferent embodiments may be mixed and matched as desired to form newembodiments, whether or not the new embodiments are expressly described.

The embodiments of the invention described above allow for a variety ofbenefits including that the disk sprayers provide for additionalcoverage of the treating chamber. The disk sprayers may also increasethe velocity of the spray emitted from the openings in the disk sprayerwhile not sacrificing coverage or individual nozzle size. Further, withless liquid flow needed, a smaller recirculation pump having a smallermotor may also be used which may result in a cost and energy savings.The second embodiment, which include the membrane, allow for the outletsto be sealed such that liquid does not leak to outlets that are notintentionally being fluidly coupled with the fluid passage. Such sealingchallenges may occur for various reasons including because the surfaceof the valve body or the sprayer are too rough or uneven. The sealingrings provide a smaller sealing surface for the membrane allowing agreater force to be applied to those points and allowing for a betterseal. The sealing rings also allow soils, which may pass into thesprayer, to pass under the membrane without running the risk of holdingthe membrane up, providing a leak path. The flex in the membrane allowsit to form around the sealing ring and provide a robust seal.

While the invention has been specifically described in connection withcertain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that thisis by way of illustration and not of limitation, and the scope of theappended claims should be construed as broadly as the prior art willpermit. For example, it has been contemplated that the invention maydiffer from the configurations shown in FIGS. 1-8, such as by inclusionof other conduits, dish racks, valves, spray assemblies, seals, and thelike, to control the flow of liquid and the supply of air.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dishwasher for treating dishes according to atleast one automatic cycle of operation, comprising: a tub comprising abottom wall for at least partially defining a treating chamber in whichdishes may be received for treatment; at least one disk sprayer providedon the bottom wall, and having at least one opening through which liquidis emitted into the treating chamber; a recirculation circuit fluidlycoupling the treating chamber to the at least one sprayer such thatliquid emitted into the treating chamber may be directed back to thedisk sprayer for recirculation; and at least one of the followinglocated exteriorly of the treating chamber: a heater thermally coupledto the recirculation circuit to heat liquid passing through therecirculation circuit; a filter fluidly coupled to the recirculationcircuit to filter liquid passing through the recirculation circuit; anda sump fluidly coupled to the recirculation circuit; wherein a placementof the at least one of the heater, filter, and sump exteriorly of thetreating chamber frees the bottom wall of the tub for placement of theat least one disk sprayer.
 2. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the atleast one disk sprayer further comprises at least one small disk incombination with at least one large disk.
 3. The dishwasher of claim 1wherein the at least one disk sprayer comprises multiple disk sprayers.4. The dishwasher of claim 3 wherein the multiple disk sprayers compriseat least four disk sprayers.
 5. The dishwasher of claim 4 wherein the atleast four disk sprayers are arranged one-per-quadrant relative to thebottom wall.
 6. The dishwasher of claim 5 wherein the at least four disksprayers are all a same size.
 7. The dishwasher of claim 6, furthercomprising a recirculation inlet opening located in the bottom wallbetween the at least four disk sprayers and fluidly coupled to arecirculation conduit.
 8. The dishwasher of claim 4 wherein the multipledisks comprise different size disk sprayers.
 9. The dishwasher of claim1 wherein the at least one disk sprayer comprises multiple disksprayers, with at least two of the multiple disk sprayers being of adifferent size.
 10. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the at least onedisk sprayer comprises at least one large disk sprayer having a diametersubstantially equal to a diameter of the bottom wall.
 11. The dishwasherof claim 10 wherein the at least one large disk is centered relative tothe bottom wall.
 12. The dishwasher of claim 10 wherein the bottom wallis polygonal with at least four corners, and the at least one disksprayer further comprises at least four small disks arrangedone-per-corner on the bottom wall.
 13. The dishwasher of claim 1 whereinthe at least one disk sprayer comprises a rotatable disk sprayer that isrotatable relative to the bottom wall.
 14. The dishwasher of claim 13wherein the rotatable disk sprayer is spaced above the bottom wall. 15.The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the at least one disk sprayercomprises a fixed disk sprayer that is fixed relative to the bottomwall.
 16. The dishwasher of claim 15 wherein the fixed disk sprayer isintegrally formed with the bottom wall.
 17. The dishwasher of claim 15wherein the at least one disk sprayer further comprises a rotatable disksprayer that is rotatable relative to the bottom wall.
 18. Thedishwasher of claim 17 wherein the rotatable disk sprayer is spacedabove the bottom wall.
 19. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein at leasttwo of the heater, filter, and sump are located exteriorly of thetreating chamber.
 20. The dishwasher of claim 19 wherein the filter islocated within the sump to filter liquid passing through the sump. 21.The dishwasher of claim 20 wherein the filter is rotatable within thesump.
 22. The dishwasher of claim 21 wherein the heater is thermallycoupled to the sump to heat the liquid passing through the sump.
 23. Thedishwasher of claim 22, further comprising a housing defining the sumpand the heater is provided on the housing.
 24. The dishwasher of claim 1wherein all three of the heater, filter, and sump are located exteriorlyof the treating chamber.